Power plant for drilling apparatus



March 7, 1933. -M. KAHR POWER PLANT FOR DRILLING APPARATUS Filed March 25, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet l March 7, 1933. M. KAHR POWER PLANT FOR DRILLING APPARATUS Filed March 25, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwvmtov March 7,1933. M.KAHR 0,384

POWER PLANT FOR DRILLING APPARATUS Filed March 25 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Mar. 7,1933

UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

HAIR-TIN m FRANKLIN, IENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB T0 VALVELESS ENGINE COMPANY, OF I'RANKLIN, PENNSYLVANIA, ACORPOMTION 0] PENNSYL VANIA.

rowan. PLANT roa DRILLING arrnm'rus Application filed March 25,

' ate the rotary drill. At the same time the apparatus must be lubricated or slushed, and another engine is ordinarily requiredto operate 7 the slush pumps. After a few hours the drlll bit becomes dull and must be replaced, and

' englne 1s idle.

for this, or for other, purposes the drill pipe must be pulled out frequently. This oper- 1 ation requires a great deal more powerthan' the drilling and the drilling engine has heretofore been made large enoughto handle this overload. At the same time, however, the slush pumps are idle and the engine normally operating them is available for other uses. On the other hand, when the drill be comes clogged, or for other purposes, agreat amount of slush fluid under high pressure is desired, and the slushing engine is this required to be capableof handling considerable overloads while at the same time the drilling An object of this invention is to enable the use of en es designed for the normal conditions 0 load of the driven machines, that is smaller or lower-powered engines than heretofore used, for either or both of the above purposes, and at the same time tohave avail-. able the excess power needed for"opera'ting either of the machines driven from the respective engines when additional power is required to meet a substantial overload.

v Another object of the present invention. is to provide means whereby two or more engines may be operated and controlled inde- 40' pendently, or may be combined as a single power unit. c Afurther object of this invention is to provide means whereby two or more engines may be operated and controlled independently from a distant control station, or may be combined and controlled conjointly from such control station.

' One embodiment ofthe invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it is'to be expressly understood that these 1926. Serial N0. 97,411.

drawings are for purposes of illustration only,

reference being had to the appended claims for a definition 'of the limits of the inventiom In the dra'Wings -I Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a power plant for rotary drilling apparatus;

Fig. 2 shows one of the engines of said power plant;

Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the connections between the control means of the engines;

Fig. 4 is a detail showing of the operating lever for said. control means; and

Fig." 5 is a detail showing of a part of the trol means. a 4

. Referring to the drawings, wherein like "reference numerals indicate like parts, Fig. 1 illustrates diagrammaticall a power plant shown as applied to rotary rilling appara-' tus and comprising two internal combustion engines 1 and 2 (if any suitable type. Engine 1 is adapted to operate the rotary drilling apparatus 3 by any suitable means as a chain or belt-4 driving a shaft 5 supported in suitable bearings 6, 6'. The shaft 5 is provided with a reversible clutch mechanism 7 of any known type and with suitable belt or chain connectlons 8, 8' whereby a line shaft 9 may be rotated in either direction. Shaft 9 is connected bg means of a belt 10 with the rotary drill 3. lush pumps 11, 11' of any suitable type are operated by engine 2 by means of suitable connections 12 and 12'. Means are preferably pro'videdwhereby the en ms 1 and 2 may be respectively controlled rom the drill-' '65 connections between said lever and said coning apparatus, telegraph wheels 13 and 14,

which are operatively connected with the control mechanisms of hereinafter.

said engines, as described Engines'l and 2 are preferably-of the illustrated and described in m co-pendingapplication Serial No. 92,573, edMarch 5, 1926, and are-provided with the type of con- 1 trol means disclosed in this application. 'iifig;

2 illustrates such an engine havi a cafsmg 15 and lay shaft 16. A pum 17 o anysuitable type isrprovided for feeding .fllfll tosaid engin'eand the amount of fuel may. be regulated by suitable means such as a valve 18, having a valve stem 19, ositioned in thesupply line to the engine. lever has a floating fulcrum 21 and engages the valve stem 19 of the valve 18, being adapted to operate the latter at a suitable point in the stroke of the piston when actuated by. a push rod 22 operated in any suitable way. As thb push rod 22 is raised, it engages the outer end oi lem ver 20 and rotates the latter about its fulcrum 21., thereby operating the valve 18 and cuttingofi the supply of :tuel to the engine.

The speed of the engine is regulated by varying the position of the fulcrum 21, which is supported on a plunger or piston member 22 operating in a dash pot 23 which serves to damp the movement of the fulcrum. Means are provided for regulating the position of this fulcrum, as described in my prior application, including anlhshaped arm 24 connected to the plunger 22' and engaging the treeend of a lever 25, the other end of said lever being suitably pivoted to the engine casing. lntermediate its ends, lever 25 is connected at 26 to a governor spindle operated by the fly balls 27. As the speed increases, balls 27 are forced outwardly, raising the governor spindle and the lever 25, and thereby raising the fulcrum 21. As fulcrum 21 is raised, push rod 22 will operate the valve 18 at an earlier point in the stroke, thereby decreasing the amount of charge admitted to the engine cylinder and decreasing the speed. The up or end of the governor spindle 28 slides in t e interior of a tubular member 29 havin threaded engagement with the easin o the engine. 'lheupper end of said to ular member is closed by means of a screw 30 and resilient means such as a spring are interposed between the lower endot the screw 30 and the upper end of thegovernor spindle 28. The telegraph wheel 13' is secured to the upper end of member 29 and is connected by means of rope or cord with the telegraph wheel 13. When the wheels 13 and 13' are rotated so as to screw the member 29 into the casing, the tension of the spring is increased and the speed at which the governor spindle 28 will operate to raise the fulcrum 21 is increased correspondingly. Conversely, when the telegraph wheels 13 and 13' are rotated in the reverse direction, the tension of the spring is decreased and the speed at which the governor spindle 28 becomes operative is decreased correspondingly. By'these means the speed may be controlled from the drilling station.

In conformity with the present invention, means are provided whereby the combined power of the two engines may be made available to operate either the drilling mechanism or the slush pumps. When combined, either engine may serve as a supplementary source of power or booster for the other engine according to the conditionsof operation. In

neonate order to suitably connect the two engines mechanically, the shaft of engine 2 is here shown as extended by a portion 32 (Fig. 1) which is either integral with said shaft or suitably secured thereto, and which is connected at its other end with a coupling member 33 of any suitable type. lhe latter is operatively connected in any way with .the shaft of engine 1. When the coupling is engaged, the two engines operate as a single power unit; when disengaged, they may be operated independently. Suitable means are 11 ewise provided whereby the control mechanisms of the several engines may be combined and operated as a single control system, preferably from the drilling station. lln the form shown, engines 1 and 2 are provided with'rock shafts 34 and 34' supported in any suitable manner on the engine structure, said shafts being provided with suitable arms 35, 35' which carry in their outer ends means such as the screws 36, 36 each engaging the upper portion of the plunger 22'. lhe screws 36, 36 may be locked in position bylocking nuts as 37, Fig. 2.

Preferably shafts 34 and 34: are each provided at one end with a universal joint 38, 38' of any suitable type, and means are provided for connecting said universal joints together which, as shown, include a shaft 39 connected at one end to universal joint 38 and havingon its other end a splincd sleeve 40 which is attached thereto in any suitable way, as by means of a taper bolt 41 and nut 42. The free end of splined sleeve 40 is adapted to 1% receive the outer end of universal joint 38 which is similarly splinedfand by this means a slidable coupling is formed which connects the shafts 34 and 34'. The universal joints and slidable coupling are provided in order 105 to allow for poor alinement of the various parts, which may often be the case.

In order to enable the drill operator to control both engines conjointly from the drilling station, means are preferably pro- 112 vided for operating the combined control mechanisms from said station. In the form shown, one end of shaft 34 is tapered to form a spindle for the end of a suitable arm 43 (Fig. 5). The arm 43 is secured on the end v of the shaft as by means of a nut 44 and is keyed thereto by a suitable member 45. The arm 43 preferably extends upwardly and is forked at its upper end, said forks supportring on their inner sides guide blocks 46, 46,

as by means of bolts 47, 47'. The inner faces of the blocks 46 and 46' are provided with notches or grooves 48 which form a substantially circular opening extending between said blocks. A rod 49 extends through this 12 opening, having on one end a nut oreap 50, and resilient means, preferably acoil spring 51, are interposed between the cap 50 and the V blocks 46, 46'. Rod 49 is thus slidable between said blocks and may also swivel in nism 55 of any 'known type. The movement.

of lever 54 is limited inone direction by a stop 56 and in the other direction by an-adjustable stop 57,

.Normally, both engines run independently and are controlled from the drilling station by means of the telegraph wheels 13 and 14. When it is desired to combine the engines to operate as a unit, the telegraph wheels 13 and 14 are first turned to their upper position, that is for minimum speed. The control lever 54 is likewise moved to its minimum down until they just touch the upper surface.

of each plunged 22, and are locked in that position by means of lock nuts.

-To speed up the engines, lever 54 is moved downward toward the stop 57. This movement acts through rod 49 and spring 5l to rotate the arm 43 and with it the rock shafts 34, 34, thereby lowering the fulcrum's 21, 21 and causing the fuel valves 18, 18 to operate at a later point in the stroke of the piston, thus admitting more fuel to the engines. In other words, movement of lever 54 toward the stop 57 causes the engines to speed up.

Maximum speed may be adjusted by mov-' ing the adjustable stop 57. The s rin 51 be ad usted to give the engine any dered range of speed within the limits of movementof the lever 54. v

When the lever 54 is moved toward stop 56, thereby slacking the line 53, the rock shafts 34, 34' are rotated in the reverse direction by any suitable means such as levers 58, 58 secured to said shafts in any suitable manner, and having springs 59, 59' interposed between the outer ends of said levers and the engine structures. These levers also serve to'take up any lost motion in the connections between the governing devices.

It will be apparent that by means of this device, the two engines may be operated independently and independently controlled from the drilling station, or they may be combined and operated as a single power unit and controlled simultaneously from the drilling station. In many cases the use of this im/ention will effect considerable savings in cost of the operating plant. In rotary drilling apparatus, for example, the engine operating the-drill is normally required to be approximately twice as large as is' neces sary to' operate the drill in order to take careof the temporary overloads, such as occur'in pulling out the drill bit. By combining the power of the two engines, it is therefore possible to effect a great saving 1n the size and cost of the drilling engine, and a corresponding saving in the cost of its operation. Similarly, the engine operating the slush pumps is required to be capable of'handling considerable overloads, and. by employing the drilling engine as an auxiliary or booster engine, substantial savings may be effected in the cost of this equipment.

While only one embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that the invention is not limited to this embodiment but is susceptible of a variety of expressions,

and also that changes maybe made in the arrangement and details of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention. Reference is therefore to be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a plurality of internal combustion engines each having speed regulating means, a rock shaft for each of said engines havinga rocker arm operatively engaging said re ulating means, means for connecting said shafts including a universal joint and a slidable coupling, an arm secured to one of said shafts, and means operatively connected to said arm for rotating said shafts from a distance.

2. In combination with avplurality of 1nternal combustion engines having speed regulating means, a rock shaft operatively connected with said speed regulating means, an arm on said shaft having a bifurcated end, blocks supported by said bifurcations and having similarly disposed grooves on their interior faces, a rod extending through the opening formed by said grooves, resilient means interposed between said rod and said blocks, and means attached to said rod for rotating said shaft from a distance. 3. In combination with a plurality of in- .ternal combustion engines each having speed regulating means, means including a rock shaft in operative engagement with each of said regulating means, means for operatively connecting said rock shafts, means normally tending to rotate said shaft in one direction including 'a lever operatively connected to said shaft and resilient means actuating said lever, and means for rotating said shaft in the opposite direction from a distance.

4. In combination with a plurality ofinternal combustion engines each having speed regulating means, means including a rock shaft in operative engagement with each of said regulating means, means for operatively connecting said rock shafts, a lever operatively connected to said shaft, resilient means tending to rotate said lever and shaft in one direction, an arm secured to said shaft, and means including a resilient member opera tively engaging said arm for rotating said shaft in the opposite direction.

5. In rotary drilling apparatus including drilling mechanism and pumping mechanism, an engine for operating each of said mechanisms, and means for combining said engines to operate either of said mechanisms conjointly.

6. n1 rotary drilling apparatus, in combination with the rotary drill and slush pumps thereof, an engine operatively connected to said drill, a second engine operatively connected to said slush pumps, and

means for connecting either of said'engines to the other engine to operate conj ointly with the latter.

7. In rotary drillingapparatus including drilling mechanism and pumping mechanism, a pair of internal combustion engines, each "of said engines normally operating one of said mechanisms, means for controlling said engines independently, means for combining said engines to operate either of said mechanisms conjointly, and means for controlling said engines as a unit.

8. In rotary drilling apparatus including a rotary drill and slush pumps, an internal combustion en ine normally operating said drill, a secon internal combustion engine normally operating said pumps, means for controlling each of said engines independently from the drilling station, means for combining said engines to operate conjointly either said drill or said pumps, and means for controlling the combined engines as a unit from the drilling station.

9. In rotary drilling apparatus including two driven mechanisms, an internal combustion engine for operating each driven mocha- I nism, means for disconnecting either engine from its driven mechanism, and means for combining the two engines to operate the other driven mechanism jointly.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

MARTIN KAHR.

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